Judith Arnopp-Historical Novelist

Historical Novelist writing from a woman's perspective in the Tudor and Medieval period. Her Tudor novels include The Beaufort Chronicles, The Winchester Goose, The Kiss of the Concubine, Intractable Heart and A Song of Sixpence. Medieval novels are Peaceweaver, The Song of Heledd, and The Forest Dwellers. All In paperback and on Kindle. Judith also writes historical blogs and articles.

In my contribution to the
anthology I delve deeply into the poetry of Thomas Wyatt, examine the events surrounding the arrest of Anne Boleyn and those accused
alongside her, and consider Wyatt’s part in it.

Sexuality and its Impact on History chronicles the impact of romance and sex from the time of the Anglo-Saxons, through medieval and Tudor courtly love tradition to the Victorian era. It is due for publication in March 2018 by Pen and Sword Books.

For the chance of winning a copy please leave a comment below about why you'd like to be among the lucky winners. Your copy will be sent out on publication day - 30th March 2018.

Friday, 5 January 2018

Sexuality and Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare

Available March 2018!

Sexuality and Its Impact on History: the British Stripped Bare chronicles the pleasures and perils of the flesh, sharing secrets from the days of the Anglo-Saxons, medieval courtly love traditions, and Tudor escapades - including those of Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots - the Regency, and down to the 'prudish' Victorian era. This scholarly yet accessible study brings to light the myriad varieties of British sexual mores. Published by Pen&Sword Books, UK.

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

I know I am not alone is saying 2017 has not been an easy year and as I sit here on a cold bleak 2nd of January I cannot help but wonder if 2018 will be any better. But I am a great believer in optimism - I hold a strange mystic conviction that come midnight on the 31st December a magic wand wipes away the mistakes and sorrows of the old year and the new day dawns bright and shiny and unspoiled. Every January I say 'This is the year I shall lose weight, write a record breaking best-seller, find the perfect work/life balance.'

Sadly, although I have many things to be thankful for, once again none of this quite came to be so I have decided to make 2018 my year instead. Happily, there are already a few things in the works that should help it along.

I am glad to say that the final book of The Beaufort Chronicles, The King's Mother is doing well, the reviews that have come in are good, encouraging me to begin another set much later during the reign of Henry VIII ... but more on that later. All my books are available for your kindle or in paperback. You can purchase The Beaufort Chronicles here.

As I type this the final edits are being completed on an audio version of The Beaufort Bride, with Books two and three soon to follow. I am delighted to be working with Tessa Petersen who is doing a great job of the narration and will soon be moving on to the next books in the trilogy. Also in the pipeline is an audio production of The Kiss of the Concubine; a story of Anne Boleyn. This new enterprise will open up my work to a wider audience so if you have friends or family who prefer audio, do let them know.

My other big news is that I shall shortly be joining fellow authors Annie Whitehead, Hunter S. Jones, Jessica Cale, Maryanne Coleman, Gayle Hulme, Emma Haddon Wright and Dr Beth Lynne in launching our anthology Sexuality and its Impact on History - a collection of scholarly essays examining the truth behind romantic and sexual relationships which have shaped British history. You can read more about it on Hunter S Jones' webpage by clicking here. The book is to be published in March by Pen&Sword Books and is available to pre-order here.

My contribution to the anthology concerns the persistant rumours of a romantic attachment between Anne Boleyn and the poet, Thomas Wyatt. I shall be examining some of his wonderful poetry that holds so many teasing possibilities.

Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,

But as for me, helas, I may no more.

The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,I am of them that farthest cometh behind.Yet may I by no means my wearied mindDraw from the deer, but as she fleeth aforeFainting I follow. I leave off therefore,Sithens in a net I seek to hold the wind.Who list her hunt, I put him out of doubt,As well as I may spend his time in vain.And graven with diamonds in letters plainThere is written, her fair neck round about:Noli me tangere, for Caesar's I am,And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.

I shall be blogging about this further during the coming months. in the meantime, have a wonderful New Year full of laughter and company and, of course, good books to read.

Wednesday, 27 September 2017

I have neglected this blog badly this year, and here we are almost at the end of September. This year has not been kind to me so far and I have struggled to keep writing, let alone blog and socialise as much as I usually do. I did manage to attend Raglan Castle for their Tudor Weekend (who would miss that) where we had a fantastic time. It was great to meet readers, both old and new to my work. We did so well that I sold out on some titles. The season of book fairs began last weekend at Narberth where my books were also very successful. It was great to catch up with my fellow authors from Wales, and meet the readers once again. It was a reward for a rotten year and I am so glad I managed to keep up with is my work in progress, The King's Mother which, you will be glad to hear, has just entered the editing stage.

Margaret Beaufort's latter years are not as dramatic as her earlier life. Established as The King's Mother, she is gratified to finally see her son, Henry Tudor, on the throne of England, and the royal nursery filling with grandchildren. However, Henry's reign is not an easy one and there are hidden dangers: his early years as king are fraught with uprisings, imposters, and the fear of possible assassins. As the years pass and one by one their enemies are vanquished, a more personal tragedy strikes. For once, Margaret finds herself powerless as slowly and inexorably, death takes those that Margaret loves best.

It has been an uphill struggle for both Margaret and I, yet finally against all odds, the book is undergoing the first round of edits, the illustrator Kate Murray, and cover designer Cover Girl have done marvelous things with the exterior. It won't be long now until the book hits the shelves and all my fears of not making the deadline seem to have been vain.

I have also been involved in a non-fiction project with a authors, Annie Whitehead, Jessica Cale, Hunter S. Jones, Gayle Hulme, Dr Beth Lynne and Emma Hadden Wright which is to be published by Pen & Sword Books in March 2018. The book comprises of a collection of scholarly essays examining love and romance through the ages and the impact it may or may not have had on British history. I shall provide more information on this when I have it.

So, please forgive my neglect. I promise I shall strive to do better in the future. On my facebook page you will find an on going competition to come up wth ideas for the historical woman to be featured in my next book - preferably Tudor or late medieval. I shall peruse your ideas, and select my favourite. The person who comes up with the most inspiring idea will be mentioned in the dedication and receive a FREE copy of the book when it is published. So please, have a think and join us.

Monday, 8 May 2017

Have you ever tried to put a jigsaw together in the dark? No? Me neither. But researching The Dark Ages is a little bit like doing a jigsaw without any light. It is complicated.

The British populace finally expelled the Roman occupiers in the year AD 409. But without the might of The Roman Army, Britain found itself under attack by the Scots, Picts, Angles and the Saxons. She turned to Emperor Honorius for help. Instead of troops, Emperor Honorius sent a letter. In it, he told the people of Britain to “… look to their own defences…” Briton was alone. She would get no further help from the Empire.

What happened next was to change the course of British History forever. Britain split back into smaller kingdoms, each ruled by a powerful warlord. There was no unity, only division. How could they possibly stand up to the foreign invaders when they couldn't stop fighting each other?

They needed someone to unite them. And that someone was none other than a man called Arthur. You may have heard of him?

It was Arthur that kept the Saxons away. It was Arthur who united the kingdoms. It was Arthur that brought about peace. Fact! Well, sort of.

The Dark Ages, as you can see, is the time of myths and legends. And the most famous tale of all was about King Arthur and his Knights. Over time, the story of Arthur was expanded upon. They gave him a castle, a court. He became a Christian King, and so it went on. Each tale more elaborate than the last, until Arthur became a superhero on par with Ironman! Of course, when he died, the Saxon’s took advantage of this power vacuum. They invaded and made Britain their home. Where was the ‘Once And Future King’ while this was going on? Perhaps someone forgot to wake him up!

Researching the life and time of King Arthur is like searching for a ghost. There is nothing substantial, just theories and stories. But you would think that there would be something more tangible about the Saxon invaders?

The Dark Ages is a little short on historical documents. The chroniclers had left with the Roman Army. So all we have to go on is the damning sermon of Gildas, and the works of Bede and Nennius. It isn’t until Alfred the Great’s time when ink was finally put to parchment. This document became known as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

There is one Saxon invader that I am particularly fascinated with, and that is Cerdic of Wessex. There is a rumour that Cerdic’s troops met Arthur’s at Bardon Hill — Arthur won that day. But when Cerdic learnt of Arthur’s death he gathered his troops once more. Cerdic landed in Hampshire at the end of the fifth Century. He launched a campaign that led them across the South-East of Britain and as far as the Isle of Wight. It was during this campaign that Cerdic…

“…killed a certain British King named Natanleod and five thousand men with him.” - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

Some say that Natanleod was Arthur, while others doubt his existence at all. It is said that Cerdic became the first West-Saxon King of Britain in AD 519. Bear in mind that The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles was written over 300 years after Cedric's death. It is hardly a primary source and should be treated with, maybe not suspicion, but certainly scepticism.

A lot happened between the end of the Roman occupancies and the writing of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. It was the bards that kept the history alive during this time. Yes, they may have changed the history a little to make for a more exciting tale, but they can be forgiven because they had to make their money somehow. So you can see the problem the chroniclers had. The Dark Ages and folklore go hand in hand. It is almost impossible to separate them. They are weaved together so tightly that to try to unpick the truth from the fiction would damage the tapestry. Ruin it. So the chroniclers could only work with what they had and what they had was folklore.

In my series, The Du Lac Chronicles, I have tried to weave together folklore and history, paying equal respect to both. It is a challenge but then so is The Dark Ages and that is why I love it!

Book Blurb

War is coming to Saxon Briton.

As one kingdom after another falls to the savage might of the High King, Cerdic of Wessex, only one family dares to stand up to him — The Du Lacs.

Budic and Alden Du Lac are barely speaking to each other, and Merton is a mercenary, fighting for the highest bidder. If Wessex hears of the brothers’ discord, then all is lost.

Fate brings Merton du Lac back to the ancestral lands of his forefathers, and he finds his country on the brink of civil war. But there is worse to come, for his father’s old enemy has infiltrated the court of Benwick. Now, more than ever, the Du Lac must come together to save the kingdom and themselves.

Mary Anne Yarde is the Award Winning author of the International Best Selling Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Set a generation after the fall of King Arthur, The Du Lac Chronicles takes you on a journey through Dark Age Briton and Brittany, where you will meet new friends and terrifying foes. Based on legends and historical fact, The Du Lac Chronicles is a series not to be missed.

Monday, 24 April 2017

Mention the name of Elizabeth I and visions
of a glorious queen with red-gold hair immediately come to mind. She shepherds
her people and stands firm against the Spanish armada. Her devotion to her
subjects is so complete that she cannot even bring herself to find a spouse.
Long after her death, Queen Elizabeth I is adored, possibly more so than she
was during her lifetime.

In contrast, her older sister, Queen Mary I
is remembered as ‘Bloody Mary’ when she is remembered at all. The sisters
shared the auburn hair that they inherited from their father, Henry VIII, but
that is not all they had in common. A closer look reveals that Elizabeth
learned much about ruling as queen regnant from the example of her sister.

The role modelling that Mary provided for
Elizabeth began long before either of them became queen. The girls were often
part of the same household when Elizabeth was young, beginning with Mary’s
forced servitude in the infant Elizabeth’s household as part of Henry’s
striving to emphasize that it was Elizabeth who, at that time, was princess
while Mary was a bastard. By the time both girls were brought to court by
stepmother Katherine Parr, both were bastardized princesses.

Mary’s early roles in Elizabeth’s life
would have demonstrated how to be pious and submissive in the face of
adversity. Elizabeth would get a different view of what positions a woman could
fulfill when her father went to war in France, leaving Katherine as regent with
Mary at her side. Katherine Parr was an important person in the lives of these
motherless girls. She showed that a woman could order a kingdom just as well as
a household, and both girls took note.

Both Katherine and Mary offered Elizabeth
examples on the effects that the wrong marriage could have on a woman’s life.
If she were not haunted by the fact that her mother had been executed by her
father, Elizabeth need look no further than Katherine and Mary for further
reasons to remain single. Thomas Seymour, Katherine’s fourth husband, gave
Elizabeth an early lesson in flirtation, if not more, and was executed for
treason shortly after Katherine’s death following childbirth. Mary’s marriage
to Prince Philip caused an uproar of rebellion as the efforts to restore
Catholicism became fused with England’s marriage to Spain in the minds of
Englishmen.

However, Elizabeth took note of the finer
details of Mary’s reign and used them to her advantage when her turn came. While
the lack of a husband caused its own problems, not the least of which was the
end of her family’s dynasty, Elizabeth had learned from her father’s marital
scandals and the repercussions of her sister’s choice that it was safer to
remain alone. Elizabeth is famous for stating, “I have already joined myself in
marriage to a husband, namely the kingdom of England.” What is not so widely
remembered, is that Mary said almost the same thing.

In 1554, with Wyatt’s Rebellion underway,
Mary decided to address the people of London and encourage them to rise up in
her defense. She said, in part, “What I am loving subjects, ye know your Queen,
to whom, at my coronation, ye promised allegiance and obedience, I was then
wedded to the realm, and to the laws of the same, the spousal ring whereof I
wear here on my finger, and it never has and never shall be left off. . . . I
cannot tell how naturally a mother loveth her children, for I never had any,
but if the subjects may be loved as a mother doth her child, then assure
yourselves that I, your sovereign lady and your Queen, do earnestly love and
favour you. I cannot but think you love me in return.”

Elizabeth was a clever woman, better at
reading political situations than Mary ever was. She was quick to use language
and strategies that had worked for her sister, but also eager to put distance
between herself and the memory of the aged, childless queen and learn from
Mary’s mistakes.

Where Mary had seen herself as the
spiritual leader of her people, Elizabeth understood that changing times made
Head of the Church of England a difficult title to bear. Mary had believed that
it was her duty to reconcile her kingdom to Rome and her people to God, but
Elizabeth was careful to keep her faith more private than any previous ruler of
England had. She saw, as few monarchs of her day did, that religion was
becoming an issue that people were no longer united in.

Elizabeth used this difference between
herself and her sister to bolster her position. In turn, Mary’s name was
blackened. The harsh sobriquet ‘Bloody Mary’ was never applied to the devout
queen during her lifetime, but the sister who benefitted from her example also
found that she appeared more glorious if her predecessor seemed evil in
comparison. Instead of receiving credit for demonstrating that a woman could
reign, Mary became the enemy whom Elizabeth triumphed over. Yet, Elizabeth
would not have been the success that she was without the sister who paved the
way for her.

Additional Reading

Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard,
Queenby Anna Whitelock

The First Queen of Englandby Linda Porter

The Children of Henry VIIIby Alison Weir

Samantha Wilcoxsonis the author of the Plantagenet Embers Trilogy. An incurable
bibliophile and sufferer of wanderlust, she lives in Michigan with her husband
and three teenagers. Her most recent novel, Queen
of Martyrs: The Story of Mary I was recently released and is available
in paperback and on Kindle. You can connect with Samantha onher
blogor onFacebook,Twitter, andGoodreads.

Sunday, 26 February 2017

Today I welcome historical author, Trisha Hughes to the blog. Take it away, Trisha.

In history, to be an
English king and to be murdered was no more than a hazard of the job and there
have been a vast number of kings where this has actually been the case. The
story of the kings and queens of England is a wonderful drama, far more surprising
than you might think.

Times were brutal and
they felt the need to take certain measures into their own hands, and trust me,
there have been many extraordinary and various ways that royal family members
have sought to delete relatives who were obstacles in the path of their determined
progress to the throne. Many were not averse to the odd assassination or two by
poisoning, starving, burning, imprisonment and an old favourite, beheading. It
was hard enough to snatch the throne but it was even harder keeping it.

Many historians pass
hazily over the precise methods employed to delete family members. Some choose
to leave it as an insinuation of ‘died under suspicious circumstances’, because
the entire truth will never be fully known. Some historians are not so coy.
Neither am I.

When we speak of
Britain’s monarchs, most of us would agree that early periods of time are
clearly muddled. Many of the early British kings are hidden in the mists of
time while some, the ones who lost crucial battles, have almost completely
disappeared when the victors erased their rivals from all surviving records.
There are kings who ruled for only a few months and there are some who ruled
for over fifty years. There are also some who should never have ruled at all.
They include, among their number, the vain, the greedy and the downright
corrupt as well as adulterers, swindlers and cowards. Yet this group also
shares one thing in common. In their lifetimes, they were the most powerful
individuals in the land. My story, ‘Vikings to Virgin – The Hazard of being
King’, spans 1500 years and is full of lust, betrayal, heroism, murder,
cruelty and mysteries.

If you know anything
about the British, you’ll know that among the good and the well-meaning monarchs,
some of them were ruthless, not to mention greedy, murderous and totally
corrupt. Their story is better than a thriller about a serial killer on the
loose because this story is absolutely true. Don’t imagine a fairy story with
handsome kings whisking off princesses on their white horses to the sound of trumpets
and the cheers of their people. Imagine powerful individuals who were brutal
and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted and who were more than happy
to get rid of the odd family member or two who were standing in the way of
their progress to the throne.

My story is
based on facts, but it's told as a rambling narrative and is written in a
way that I hope is easy to read. It’s
a story of kings who struggled to hold on to their throne, of horrendous bloody
battles, of tiny boys becoming rulers, of ruthless usurpers and of queens who
proved to be more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined. It’s a story
of invading armies, of rival family members, of spies and conspiracies. But
what these people all had in common was during their lifetimes, they were the
most powerful people in the land.

‘Vikings to Virgin – The Hazards of being King’ starts when Britain was just a race of people struggling to survive. It
travels in time until the Britons first glimpsed a square sail and a
dragon-headed prow on the horizon, churned by oars through the waves as blue
water foamed around the hull of a mighty ship. The Vikings arrived in their
long boats on a cold miserable January morning while the English people were
enjoying their tranquility. No one heard the muffled sounds over the water.
They were still rubbing sleep out of their eyes after a savage night of arctic
air had cut its way through cracks in walls.

This book is a journey through time from the Romans,
the Saxons and the Vikings and moves on to the brazen usurpation by the Normans
followed by the arrival of the Plantagenets.
These early years were full of savagery and cruelty but by
the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, they had transformed England into a
sophisticated revered kingdom. But it was a long hard struggle during which the
War of the Roses emerged.

The
War of the Roses was basically a terrible
family squabble that ended up a bloodbath between

royal cousins where each
house was eager to snatch the crown and the throne of England for themselves away
from other family members. Like most families, differences and intrigue slowly
emerged and it wasn’t until 1455 with the first Battle of St Albans that anyone
even knew there were two sides. But
as with most rebellions, it left both sides vulnerable since it usually meant
that battles were fought ‘to the bitter end’, leaving fewer contenders alive
after every battle.

These two royal house,
the symbolic red rose of the Lancasters and the equally symbolic white rose of
the Yorks, were both making a claim for the throne and it ended up being a long
and bloody battle with sporadic periods of extreme violence and bloodshed and
an unprecedented number of attempts to usurp the throne. It was a dangerous
period full of unfathomable brutality, shifting alliances, murders, betrayals,
plots and the savage elimination of other direct descendants of the
Plantagenets.

It ended when Henry Tudor usurped the throne from Richard III and a
different sort of battle began as he continued on the bloodbath with gusto.

Book I of my trilogy ends with a comet blazing across the London skies,
half the size of the moon, streaking fire behind it as it lit up the skies in
glorious shads of red, white and gold. Tudor colours. In a suspicious England,
it was a sign they had been waiting for. A sign of better times to come. And
heaven knows, they needed it after the reign of Bloody Mary. With Mary, they’d
suffered persecution worse than any other previous generation and they welcomed
Elizabeth, an intelligent 25-year-old who dazzled everyone with her clever wit
as she stepped up to take the throne, promising a better world, after her
half-sister Mary Tudor’s death.

The story of the kings and queens of England is a wonderful drama and far
more surprising than you might think. And I’ve loved every minute of it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Trisha Hughes
started her writing career with her autobiography ‘Daughters of Nazareth’ eighteen years ago. The debut novel was
first published by Pan Macmillan Australia and became a bestseller in 1997
beating the current Stephen King book to the top 10 bestsellers at the
time. Since then she has discovered a
thirst for writing. She’s written crime
novels but her latest book, the first in her ‘V 2 V’ trilogy, ‘Vikings
to Virgin – The Hazards of being King’ is her passion and due for
release on 28th February 2017. She is currently working on the
second in the series ‘Virgin to Victoria – The Queen is dead.
Long live the Queen.’